


Bang bang, there goes your heart

by ForEliIsLost



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Danny has ptsd, Identity Reveal, Mr Lancer being a good teacher, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, danny has a panic attack, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:34:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29441238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForEliIsLost/pseuds/ForEliIsLost
Summary: A loud, acute, and growing sound echoed before blowing into an even louder boom! (...) Danny looked at his friend's face, an expression of slight concern making its way there as Danny realized he had just been asked if he was alright. He looked back at the sky, realizing that the sound must've been a firecracker. "Oh, uhm, yeah." He mumbled, "I just got caught off guard, I'm fine."
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Mr. Lancer, Danny Fenton & Sam Manson, Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley, Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley & Sam Manson
Comments: 5
Kudos: 146





	Bang bang, there goes your heart

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! sO, I was having a panic attack and, since GJH did say to make your tragedies works of art, I decided to make a character I relate to have a panic attack too because we gotta suffer together.  
> Anyhow, I hope y'all enjoy!

It was the game that opened the football season, everybody waited in the benches excitedly as the cheerleaders joined the game in the opening, doing stunts and choreography to cheer the crowd. Danny, as the sports enthusiast he was (" _ I know how to play, doesn't mean I'm any good at it. _ " He admitted to Sam, slightly annoyed that she got him to say it), went to most games, usually dragging Tucker and Sam along with him to the games. 

Today, different from all the other times, Sam was actually enjoying and cheering along — this being due to the fact that, as she'd said when Danny informed her of the game and she'd complied to going without much need of convincing, "it's the beginning of the school year and I haven't gotten a chance to be annoyed at them yet".

The game went well, the Ravens won, drawing roaring cheers from the crowd as the final score was announced [sorry, I'm not well versed in American football lingo. Volleyball? Yes. Basketball? Uh-huh. Handball? Kinda. Soccer? Yeah. Gymnastics? Oh yeah. American football? Nope.]. 

A loud, acute, and growing sound echoed before blowing into an even louder  _ boom _ ! And, before he could even process what the sound was, Danny found himself flinching and grasping at the thing closest to his hand. His breathing accelerated as he attempted to make sense of which direction the attack was coming from, and whom did it hit, his eyes searching quickly for the source.

He felt something touching his gripping hands and turned to see that he was clutching at Tucker's arm. Danny looked at his friend's face, an expression of slight concern making its way there as Danny realized he had just been asked if he was alright. He looked back at the sky, realizing that the sound must've been a firecracker. "Oh, uhm, yeah." He mumbled, "I just got caught off guard, I'm fine." He assured his friend, who went back to cheering.

But his breathing didn't go back to normal, his heart was still beating in his chest like it was gonna burst, and he couldn't shake the feeling that someone had a gun pointed at his head, ready to shoot, only he couldn't see it. He tried taking a deep breath, thinking to himself that that was a normal reaction, he just got caught off guard and got scared for a moment and it was getting a little hard to shake off — it was nothing.

Yet the shouting and laughter of the crowd bothered him and the lights felt as if they were being shown directly into his eyes and his skin felt like every brush was a slap and, as he reached for the last bits of his popcorn to try and distract himself from all the  _ too much _ , he realized that his hands were shaking and his  _ chest was  _ **_heavy_ ** and he just needed it all to stop, so he ran until he could find the first secluded spot there was — under the bleachers.

He crashed on the grass, not caring if his jeans were torn or his knees were scraped in the process as he tried to suck in a deep breath that was no use because his  _ lungs weren't working _ and he couldn't  **breathe** .

*

Tucker and Sam exchanged a look as their friend ran away from the benches before they followed after him until he reached the back of the bleachers. 

They watched warily as the half-ghost boy fell on his knees heavily, taking slow steps towards him so as to not startle him. Danny's hands rose to his chest as they heard a gasping breath, lifting to his throat as if he was trying to move a hand from its invisible grip on his neck. 

When they finally rounded in front of their friend and kneeled in front of him to take a better look at him, they saw his face wet with tears that none of them were aware of when they fell and his breathing was heavy and troubled.

"Danny, what's wrong?" Tucker asked, inspecting him once again to make sure he hadn't missed anything that might clue him to what was wrong with his best friend.

Sam put a hand on Tucker's arm, taking a second too long to look the boy in the eyes, "I think he's having a panic attack," she said quickly.

Tucker frowned, panicked himself, "What do we do?" He asked.

Sam closed her eyes, trying to think of something. She opened them and pointed her free hand to the bleachers above them, "Go get a teacher," she ordered, Tucker moving to go the way she pointed as soon as the words left her mouth, "I'll try to find a way to calm him down," Sam continued as she watched the hacker running away in search of a teacher or whatever responsible adult he could find. 

It didn't take longer than three minutes for him to return, Sam thanked the Gods for that and for the fact that the situation didn't get much worse than it was when Tucker left.

She looked up to see that the teacher he'd fetched was none other than Mr Lancer.

"What happened?" The teacher asked.

Sam shook her head from side to side, moving so that Lancer could have a better view of Danny. "We're not sure, I-I think he's having a panic attack..." 

Lancer put a hand on each of Danny's shoulders, telling the boy to copy him as he took slow, exaggerated breaths in and out. Slowly, Danny found a way to fight his lungs to obey him and messily mimicked the motions as the teacher narrated his actions softly, almost in a whisper, "Breathe in and breathe out, okay?" 

Tucker and Sam watched in worry and relief as Danny's breathing bettered, with the occasional gasps for air that were slowly turning into sobs. 

After his breathing came back to a normal pattern, it was easier to calm him down from the crying, his two best friends reaching to hold his hands and to attempt to brush the seemingly neverending stream of tears off his cheeks.

"You're better now?" Tucker asked in a hushed tone. Danny sniffed and nodded quietly, "What happened?"

Danny sniffed once again, removing his hand from Tucker's to clean his face of tears (which came back at a slower pace, but still came), "I just," he started, his voice coming out husked, "There was the boom," Danny tried again, "I thought it was an attack..." Sam's hand squeezed a little tighter and he used the feeling to ground him, "and I couldn't shake the feeling off."

Lancer frowned, "An attack?" He repeated, the teenagers' gazes turning to him, "You mean, a ghost attack?" Danny nodded in confirmation, sniffing again. "I suppose it's not surprising that you children would react badly to these attacks, they  _ are _ life-endangering, after all. Though," Lancer paused with a blank expression, "I don't think I remember seeing you nearby during any of the attacks, only your friends, Mr Fenton." 

Danny and Sam tightened each other's grip on their hands to an almost unbearable strength and Tucker stiffened beside them as they all stared at the teacher with looks they hoped didn't look like deer in the headlights.

Lancer chuckled, "It's almost as if you disappear as soon as Phantom...!" The rest of the phrase died down in his throat — he connected the dots that the trio desperately wished he didn't. It was nearly possible to see the gears turning in his head as one dot led to the connection of  _ all the other ones _ . "Or maybe you were there the whole time and I just didn't realize." He concluded and the three winced. 

After a minute of silence, Danny attempted to speak up, "Mr Lancer?" He asked shakily, "Are you—"

" _ Pride and Prejudice,  _ how did I not see it before?" The teacher whispered loud enough for the three to hear, "Do your parents know?"

Danny shook his head as he faced the ground, "No, but Jazz does."

Lancer nodded, "And, I take it, your friends know as well."

Danny had to resist the urge to laugh, "They were there." He answered with a nod.

After a moment, Lancer sighed, deciding it wasn't the time to question the kid about how he got his powers when he'd just come down from a panic attack. "Can you call your sister to take you home?" He asked finally, rubbing his forehead.

Danny's head snapped up in surprise at the lack of backlash (or a proper reaction), "Uh, yeah." He stuttered, exchanging looks with his friends.

"Then you should, I want to make sure you three get home safely." He explained, getting up from the ground, "Although, we will be discussing this come Monday."


End file.
